2122.5(B) Derivative Sound Recordings
Renewal registration for a derivative sound recording that was first published before 1978 must be based on the changes or additional recorded sounds contained in the new version. If the renewal claim is based on an original registration record for the derivative sound recording, it cannot extend beyond the scope of the original registration record. If the derivative sound recording was not registered for the original term, the renewal claim cannot extend to any portion of the original sound recording that was fixed before February 15, 1972 or previously published or registered.
To be registrable for the renewal term, a derivative sound recording must contain additional recorded material, or be different enough in substance from the original sound recording to be a "new work." Changes that are purely mechanical, such as "rechanneling" or "declicking," do not result in a "new work." Generally, for a renewal claim to be based solely on the manipulation of sounds, the original sound recording should have been fixed in multiple tracks. In such cases, the U.S. Copyright Office will require a written statement describing how the sounds were manipulated and will refuse renewal registration unless it deems this authorship to be sufficient.
2122.5(C) Eligibility of Foreign Sound Recordings
Renewal registration of foreign sound recordings is dependent on the nationality and domicile of the author at the time of first publication. Renewal registration may be possible when the author was a national or domiciliary of (or, if an organization, was registered in] a country with which the U.S. had bilateral relations, or when the producer was a national of (or if an organization, was registered in) a country that was a party to the Geneva Phonogram Convention at the time of first publication (on or after March 10, 1974). See U.S. Copyright Office, United States Copyright Relations of Current Interest (1960); Circular 38, International Copyright Conventions (1977).
NOTE: When eligibility for registration of a foreign sound recording is based solely on the provisions of the U.C.C., renewal registration is not possible, but registration under the URAA may be possible. See Part VII.
2122.5(D) Renewal Claims in Multi-Track Albums
When two or more sound recordings were first published in an LP album or in a 45-inch disk or on tape (reel-to-reel, cassette, 8-track cartridge, etc.), registration for the original term was generally made for the album as a whole, unless the album contained separate copyright notices for the individual tracks. Generally, a single renewal claim should be filed for a multi-track album as a whole when it was first published with a general copyright notice for the sound recording.
2122.5(E) Renewal Claim Includes Underlying Material
The release of a sound recording on a phonorecord prior to 1978 published the sound recording, but it did not constitute a publication of the recorded literary, musical, or dramatic work. 17 U.S.C. § 303(b). Therefore, a renewal claim in a sound recording cannot include a claim in the recorded literary, musical, or dramatic work, even when an original
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